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The Upper Room
by Bobby Bruno What was Jesus' demeanor in the upper room? When Jesus was in the upper room He had about Him a sad but humble demeanor because this would be the last time He would enjoy a night alone with His friends. Even though He was God in the flesh, Jesus remained humble to His calling, even more humble than the people that now surrounded Him, as they fought about who was first, and who would sit at Jesus' right hand. Jesus showed this humbleness by cleaning the disciple's feet to show that even God is not afraid to do whatever it takes to show someone how much He loves them and cares for their every need. The sadness came in when it was time for Judas to do the duty he felt he had to do in betraying Jesus to the experts in the Law. Still, throughout all that was said and done in that upper room, Jesus remained calm, with an assurance that showed that He was still in control of the meal. In this, He still remained God, giving His followers the words they needed to comfort them as He told them about His upcoming death. In instituting the Lord's Supper, Jesus was letting everyone know that He was still God, no matter what the future brought for Him as a human being, and reassured them that He would once again walk the dirt of the earth in a future time when He was raised again from the dead. In all of the trials Jesus faced before the crucifixion, which of His judges lacked the greatest sense of conviction about what was just? To me, the judge who lacked the greatest sense of conviction about what was just was none other than one of the ones who should have known better was Caiaphas. Even before he had Jesus in front of him and the rest of his fellowship, he remarked that Jesus should die lest He fulfill His mission to bring all of the Jews back together again into one nation, whereby the Romans may have to destroy the Jews if they grew too powerful as a nation. This conversation with can be found in John 11:47-53: "The high priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish ruling body. "What do we do now?" they asked. "This man keeps on doing things, creating God-signs. 48 If we let him go on, pretty soon everyone will be believing in him and the Romans will come and remove what little power and privilege we still have." 49 Then one of themit was Caiaphas, the designated Chief Priest that yearspoke up, "Don't you know anything? 50 Can't you see that it's to our advantage that one man dies for the people rather than the whole nation be destroyed?" 51 He didn't say this of his own accord, but as Chief Priest that year he unwittingly prophesied that Jesus was about to die sacrificially for the nation, 52 and not only for the nation but so that all God's exile-scattered children might be gathered together into one people. 53 From that day on, they plotted to kill him" (MSG). Herod would be the next in line to have lacked conviction because he had wanted nothing to do with Jesus, and sent him to Pilate to be tried. Pilate questioned Jesus as to His authority and didn't find anything guilty about Him, but had Jesus flogged and beaten anyway. Still, Pilate was convicted enough to realize that Jesus didn't deserve death and tried to get Him released by letting Jesus' own people decide if He was guilty or innocent. But, by literally washing his hands of the matter, Pilate lacked the conviction to make a decision himself because he feared a riot on his hands that would have brought his career to an end. What two factors about the resurrection are very significant for the Christian faith? Some factors I find are the facts that Jesus defeated death by leaving an empty tomb, and by the fact of the many appearances He made days after His execution. But our reading tells us that the two very significant factors are that the resurrection of Christ "became the first fruits for the believer's own experience" (p. 133), and through it "divine approval is shown for the work of Christ upon the cross" (p. 133). Mr. Guthrie also states that "the resurrection is the coping stone (finishing touch) of the whole ministry of Jesus" (p. 133). Because of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, believers have the hope that the same thing will happen to them when they die. Jesus showed us that we, too, will live on after our earthly bodies no longer function. Also, Christ being raised from the dead shows us that Jesus was in fact sent by God Himself, and that God approved of His Son's ministry. Because of all of this, we who believe can know that God is truthful and will abide by His words and the actions He promised He would do for us. Jesus' time here on earth showed us that God cares even though He doesn't have to, being that He is God. The Gospels show us that those who judge on the basis of pride and fear will die from the consequences of those two sins. The three judges mentioned above didn't want things to change, because they were afraid of the consequences they would have to face from others who lord their power over them. But, all in all, it is death that we all are afraid of. It is death that is lorded over us through sin. Jesus showed us that those who give up the power over their own deaths and give it all to Him will live on in an eternal life without fear, and will inherit peace, joy, happiness, and love and a lifetime in God's presence forever. References Guthrie, D. (1970). A shorter life of christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Academie Books. "Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group." Bobby Bruno was saved 15 years ago in a way that left him no doubt that Jesus wanted him to reach others with His great and abounding love. He started writing at the age of 12 and hasn't stopped since. He achieved Associates Degree in Biblical Studies from Ohio Christian University in early 2014. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |